Cotton-seed linter.



A. A. VARDELL. COTTON SEED LINTER. APPLIOATION FILED DEO.11, 1913.

1 1 02 1 77 Patented June 30, 1914.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 1.

I A. A. VARDELL.

COTTON SEED LINTER.

APPLIUATION FILED DEG.11,1913.

[,1 O2, 1 '77, Patented June 80,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

k 0 H o Q l I v a sans r ARTHUR A. VARDELL, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

COTTON-SEED LIN'IER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1914.

Application filed December 11, 1918. Serial No. 806,084.

proved efiiciency and mode of operation,

especially in respect to its contrivances for moting, or separating thelint from motes and other dirt and trash.

To this end the invention consists essentially in the novel and improvedconstrue tion and arrangement of parts, as herein after fully describedand pointed out in the claims, for controlling the air currents bywhichv the lint is separated from the motes and trash and conveyed tothe condenser or place where the lint is collected. With the use of myinvention cleaner lint, of better quality and higher grade, is obtainedthan With machines heretofore commonly used, and notwithstanding thehigh quality of the lint obtained there is practically no loss of thevaluable lint along with the moles and trash.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention,--I igure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a cotton. seedlintcr containing the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view.partly broken away, showing the adjustable mote board hcrcina't'tcrdcscribcd; Fig. 3 is a sectional View of said lnolc board showing saidoperating or adjusting mechanism in side elevation; Fig, 4 is afragmentary view showing certain parts oi said operating or adjustingmechanism in plan View; aml Fig. 5 is a detail in side elevation oti'oncof the guide ways For said mote board.

deferring to the drawings, A. represents the lintcr housing or casing,in which arc mounted the saw cylinder B, comprising a gang of saws andthe brush cylinder O, pro vidcd with a number of rows of brisllcs whichlap the saw teeth a depth just suflicicnt to sweep the lint from thesaws. 1) represents the lintcr feeder, through which the material is fedinto the machine, andlfi represents the condenser cylinder covered withwire fabric upon which the lint is do posited in the form of a thinlayer or hat. The several cylinders rotate respectively in thedirections indicated by the arrows thereon. The parts thus far mentionedmay be of usual construction and operation, and will be suflicicntlyunderstood by those skilled in the art without more detaileddescription.

It will be lindcrstood that the lint cut from the cotton seeds iscarried over into the housing by the saw teeth, and that the brushcylinder C rotating at a high ralc of speed, higher than the sawcylinder, brushes the lint downward from the saw teeth, partly bydirectly striking the fibers, but chiefly by the air draft created bythe rapidly rotating brush cylinder: also that the rotating brushcylinder (l at the entrance of the lint fine 11 creates the air currentthrough the lint f'luc which carries the lint or cotton fibers to thecondenser E.

The present invention has to do principally with the construction andmode of operation o't the mote board, the lint line, draft shield, andother parts, for controlling the air currents and efl'cctiug llw iuoreperfect separation of the lint from the moles and trash.

The bottom wall of lhe linl fine i extends forward underneath thc brushcylinder 0, terminating at a point substantially directly underneath theaxis of the brush cylinder and quite close to the periphery of the brushcylinder as shown, and is secured to the sides of the lintcr housing infixed relation to the brush cylinder. At the entrance of said fine andadjacent to the end of the bottom wall of the flue underneath the brushcylinder is a mute board 1, extending across the lintcr casing andhaving a downwardly and forwardly curved surface, said mote board beingpreferably formed of a curved piece of sheet metal. Near each end of themoth board 1 is secured a casting formed with an outwardly facing curvedflange 3, sliding in a similarly curved inwardly facing channel 4, whichconstitutes a guidcway in another casting 5. The castings 5, one foreach (11d of the mote board, are pivotally mounted on shaft (3 which isjournalcd in the sides of casing A. Thus, the mote board 1 may beadjusted upward and downward by sliding the flanges 3 in guide channels4," and may also be adjusted angularlv by swinging its lower edgebackward and forward on the pivoted connection between castings 5 andshaft 6,

The mechanism for effecting such vertical adjustment, as herein shown,consists of racks 7 formed on each casting 5, and pin ions 8 fast toshaft 6 and in mesh with said racks 7. Shaft- 6 may be rotated by meansof a hand wheel 9 on the outer end of the shaft thereby moving the moteboard upward or downward in its guideways. The mechanism for effectingsuch horizontal or angular movement of the mote board, as,

herein shown, consists of a pair of levers 10, fast to a shaft 11 whichis journalcd in the sides of the housing, said levers being con nectedby links 12 to the lower part of the mote board. At the outer end ofshaft 11 is an operating lever 13 by which the shaft may be rocked, anda movable pin 14 in the v end of lever 13, engages a series of holes 15.machine so as to extend part way around the lower side of the sawcylinder, 1n closeproxirnity thereto and following the curve of theperiphery of the saws, as shown at 17, thus cutting off to some extentthe air passing through the saws and between the saw cylinder and theshield 16, and out under the rail 18 of thc gratefall. The curved part17,

has an inturned lip 19 which bears against.

the body of shield 16 and supports the curved part 17. A casting'31 witha curved groove 32 is secured to each side of the housing A, and theedges of the shield 16 are supported and guided in said grooves. A rack33 is fastened to the outer side of shield 16 and is engaged by a pinion20, mounted on a shaft extending outside the housing, by which shaft therack and pinion are operated. To adjust the top of the shield 16 withrelation to the saws the pinion 20 is rotated. By curving the shield 16toward the brush cylinder (1, so that its surface if projected would beapproximately tangeiit to the saws, there will be no appreciable angleor pocket formed between the surface of the shield 16 and the surface ofthe saw cylinder, in which cotton might collect. The s lield 16 extendsdownward underneath the saw cylinder, and terminates in a roll or head21 at the bottom to stiffen it. The

' shield 16 being flexible may be bent more or inert a "r actuated by arock shaft journaled in the wallsof the housing.

The operation of the machine as thus far described, and its action onthe cotton, motes and air, is as follows :The air current gcnerated bythe rapid rotation of the brush cylinder, assisted by the direct actionof the bristles, removes the cotton and trash from the saw teeth andprojects it in a downward direction from the point of contact betweenthe saws and brush. Pieces of trash or motes which are suflicientlyheavy will fall straight down to the floor of the housing, while thecotton and lighter trash or motes will follow the strong air currentproduced by the brush toward the entrance of the fiue, as indicated bythe arrows. At the entrance of the flue the air current is divided, partpassing into and through the flue and part being deflected by the moteboard 1, downwardand forward, forming a cyclone-like return current.Said return current upon leaving the mote board flows across the openspace between the mote board 1 and wind shield 16, which extendsdownward alittle beyond the level of the motebo'ard, then encounters thesurface of the wind shield 16, the latter being preferably somewhatcurved, and passes upward along its face, and thence is deflected backagain and joins the main air current first mentioned. A gentle draft ofair is also liftedand drawn upward through the space between the moteboard and draft shield, by the action of the brush, and joinsthe saidreturn current flowing upward over the face of the draft shield. Theabove described currents are indicated by the arrows. The lighter andcleaner lint passes with the main air current immediately from the sawsinto the lint flue, while the motes and trash mingled with a certainquantity of cotton, being relatively heavy will travel in the lower partof the aircurrent, and will be turned back by the mote board 1 and passwith the deflected lower part of the air cur rent into the cyclone'likereturn current. As the material passes across the space between the moteboard and the draft shield, the motes and trash will drop out, thecurrent at that point being comparatively gentle, while the light cottonwill continue with the return air current, which is augmented by thedraft of air arising from below through said open space as indicated bythe arrows, and

join the main current of air and cotton into the lint flue.

In order to intercept and deflect a greater or less part of the aircurrent passing into the lint fine and thereby strip off more or less ofthe stream of cotton carrying the motes, the operator may adjust themote board 1 vertically, so that it will extend a greater or lessdistance across the entrance to the lint flue. it will be understoodthat the adjustable mote is entirely independent of the walls of theflue, which are fixed. By adjusting the mote board or the draft shield,or both, angularly, the direction and speed of the cyclone-like returncurrent may be varied and the volume. and speed of the air currentlifted between the mote board and the draft shield may be varied. Thusthere is afforded complete control and government of the air currents,according to the requireinerts of the quality of the material beingtreated, the speed of the saw cylinder or brush c linder, or the otherconditions of the part cular work in hand.

The high speed of the saw cylinder creates close to its periphery acounter draft tending to draw some of the cotton over the top of thewind shield, and to drop it on the outside of the shield where it iswasted. This tendency is reduced by that portion 17, of the shield whichfollows the periphery of the saws. Part 17 of the shield should beadjusted close to the saws and will aid in preventing cotton fromblowing ever between the saws and the shield and out of the machineunder the rail 18. Some cotton will probably find its way into the spacebe tween the saws and shield 17, but the space is so small that the sawswill again pick it up and'carry it around to the brush.

Referrin I now to the novel features of the lint flue, tie bottom wallbegins substantially directly underneath the axis of the brush cylinder.Thence the bottom wall extends rearw ardly in a substantially horizontaldirection as indicated by the part 24:, which is fixed between the sidesof the housing; thence it rises at an angle of about 45 as shown at 25,following in a general way the contour of the brush cylinder; thence itagain descends at an angle of about 20, forming a barrier 26, in theform of an inverted V about opposite the intake end of the upper wall ofthe lint flue F; and thence it extends rearwardly and a little upwardlyto the condenser cylinder E, as shown at 27-. 'llhese parts are allfixed, and the surfaces 24, 25 and 26 are preferably covered with sheetmetal. At the rear en of the flue an inclined plane 28 of sheet metal,with a leather strip at its upper edge to bear on and make a close jointwith the condenser cylinder it, rises at an angle about 45 from thebottom of the flue, and prevents a pocket from being formed at thecorner of the flue next to the condenser in which cotton might lodge.

'lhc action of the air current and cotton in the lint line is as folows: The air current passing through the comparatively narrow partofthe line between the brush and walls 2 1 and 9 5, is strong and freefrom tendency to back currents After passing the restricted part of theflue near the brush formed by theibarrier 26, tl e current tends toexpand. as it approaches the condenser cylinder through the wideningpart of the ilue. A back eddy or back current temls to form between theinclined plane 28' and along the bottom of the flue, bringing some lintback with it, which, uponnieeting the barrier 26, will be deflectedupwardly, and again .join the strong current entering through therestricted area above the barrier, and pass on to the condenser. Thisarrangement effectively prevents any of the cotton from passing with theback eddy out of the flue, as it tends to do without the barrier todeflect it back into the main stream passing to the condenser. No lintcan return from the condenser after it once passes the barrier.

The seal board 29, and the so-called division board 30, which also actsas a seal board at that place, each serving to cut off the undue flow ofair with the brush cylinder at the points respectively controlled bythem, instead of being of usual construction are made with concavesurfaces,.following the contour of the brush cylinder, and of sufiicientlength to span at least two rows of bristles, so that they will in allpositions of the brush cylinder coiipcrate with at least one row ofbristles to perform their functions of checking the draft created by thebrush.

I believe that the principle of the invention and the essentialcondition which contributes to the successful operation of the machinein respect to its function of moting or separating the cotton fibersfrom the motes and trash, consists in producing the cyclone-like returncurrent or air, for conveying that part of the stream of cotton whichcarries the motes back across an open space through which the heavyparticles drop out, while the light fibers pass along with the returncurrent and again join the main current into the flue. \Vhile the moteboard and wind shield above described are the best 'means known to me ofuccoinplishing the desired result, I wish to have it understood that myinvention is not limited to any specific construction but in its broaderaspects connn'chends any suitable means for deflecting part of the aircurrent at the entrance to the llue into such return current which againjoins the main current after the heavier particles have dropped out,carrying with it the lighter particles. Conceivably, such return currentmight be created by a mote board alone, having a suitably shaped aircontrolling surface to give the deflected draft the necessary upwardreturn course; but I believe the best results will he obtained with theuse also of a windshield,

and especially with provision for the relative adjustment of the moteboard and the wind shield, for the purposes hcrcinbefore set forth.

Without intending to restrict my inveniii tion in any way to anyparticular (lilil611*' sions or proportions, I will for the sake ofClearness, furnish certain dimensions with. which I have obtained gdohlresults. in a machine having a brusl'ncylinder of abouttwo inches high,to the nearest point of -thei top wall of the flue, may be about flyeinches. the mote board 1 is described may be about six inches, and themote board may be about six inches across from top to bottom. The windshield 16 may be about sixteen inches deep. And the inclined plane 28may be about six inches wide from top to bottom. All of the foregoingmeasurements may however be varied without departing from the principleof my invention.

l claim:

1. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, a flueleading from the brush cylinder and said. brush cylinder adapted tocreate an air current toward and through the flue, means at the entranceof said flue to deflect a part of the air current into a' cyclone-likereturn current, and a draft shield extending from a point directlyunderneath and closely adjacent tothe-pcriphery of the saw cylinderdownward opposite the flue entrance. i

2. In a cotton seed linter, a sawcylinder, a brush cylinder, a flueleading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted to createan air current toward and through the flue, a mate board at the entranceof said flue having a surface adapted to deflect a part of said aircurrent into a cyclone-like return current, and a draft shield extendingfrom a point directly underneath. and closely adjacent to the peripheryof the saw cylinder downward opposite the flue entrance and terminatingabove the floor.

3. in. a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder,

abrush cylinder, a flue leading from the brush cylinder, said brushcylinder adapted to create an air current toward and'through the flue,means at the entrance of said flue to deflect a part of the air currentinto a cyclone-like return current, and a 'draft shield extending from apointclosely adjacent to the periphery of the saw cylinder and at theside of the saw cylinder toward the brush cylinder downward opposite theflue entrance.

4-. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, a flue, aniote board at the entrance of said flue, and a draft shield eX tendingfrom a point directly underneath The radius on which the curve ofandclosely adjacent to the periphery of the saw cylinder downward. oppositethe flue entrance.

5. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, :3. flue,a mote board at the entrance of said flue, and a draft shield underneathsaid saw cylinder and extending from a point closely adjacent to theperiphery of the saw cylinder downward opposite the flue entrance, saiddraft shield being angularly adjustable at its lower end with relationto said mote board.

6. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder,

a brush cylinder, a flue, a mote board at the entrance of said flue, anda draft shield unintercepta part of said air current and defleet thesame into a cyclone-like return current. i

8. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder and a flueleading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted to createan air current toward and throu v 11 the flue, a downwardly and forwarly curved mote board at the entrance of said flue under the brushcylinder adaptedto intercept a part of said air current and deflectthesarne into a cyclone-like return current, and mechanism to adjustsaid curved mote board vertically with relation to the flue bottom.

9. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder,

a brush cylinder and a flue leading from the brush cylinder, said brushcylinder adapted to create an air current toward and through the flue, adownwardly and forwardly curved mote board at the entrance of said flueunder the brush cylinder adapted to intercept a part of said air currentand deflect the sameto create an air current toward and through" theflue, a downwardly and forwardly curved mote board at the entrance ofsaid flue under the brush cylinder adapted to intercept a part of saidair current and deflect the same into a cyclone-likereturn current, thelower edge of said mote board being horizontally adjustable, and a rackand pinion to adjust said mote board vertically.

11. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder and a flueleading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted to createan air current toward and through the flue, means at the entrance ofsaid flue to deflect a part of said air current downward and forwardinto a return current, and a draft shield opposite such deflecting meansadapted to direct the course of said return current upward again to jointhe air current toward the flue.

12. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, and aflue leading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted tocreatean air current toward and through the flue, means at the entranceof said flue to deflect a part of said air current down ward and forwardinto a return current, and a draft shield opposite such deflectingmeansextending downward from a point closely adjacent to and immediatelyunderneath the saw cylinder, adapted to direct the course of said returncurrent upward again to join the air current toward the flue.

'13. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder and aflue leading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted tocreate an air current toward and through the flue, means at the entranceof said flue to deflect a part of said air current down- Ward andforward into a return current, and an angularly adjustable draft shieldopposite such deflecting means adapted to direct the course of saidreturn current upward again to join the air current toward the flue.

14. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder and a flueleading from the brush cylinder, said brush'eylinder adapted to createan air current toward and through the flue, means at the entrance ofsaid flue to deflect a part of said air current downward and forwardinto a return current, and a draft shield opposite such deflecting meansand spaced apart therefrom, the upper edge of said shield beingadjustable upward and downward and the lower edge being adjustableforward and backward with relation to said deflecting ineans.

15. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, and aflue leading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted tocreate an air current toward and through the flue, means at the entranceof said flue to deflect a part of said air current downward and forwardinto a return current, and a flexible draft shield opposite suchdeflecting means and spaced apart therefrom, adapted to be bent to forma varyingley curved surface and to vary the distance tween the loweredge thereof and said deflecting moans.

16. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, and aflue leading from the brush cylinder, said brush cylinder adapted tocreate an air current toward and through the flue, means atthe entranceof said flue to deflect a part of said air current downward and forwardinto a return current, and a draft shield opposite such deflecting meansadapted to govern the upward course of said return'current, said draftshield being adjustable relatively to the saw cylinder.

17. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, a flue, amote board at the entrance of said flue, and a draft shield extendingpartway around the lower side of the saw cylinder in close proximitythereto and following the curve of the periphery of the saws, and thenceextending downward from said saw cylinder opposite said mote board.

18. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush'cylinder, a flue, amote board below and having its upper edge approximately in the verticalplane of the axis of the brush cylinder, adapted to deflect part of theair current created toward the flue by the brush cylinder into acyclone-like return current,

and a draft shield below the saw cylinder adapted to govern the upwardcourse of said return current. a

19. In a cotton seed linter, a saw cylinder, a brush cylinder, a flue, amote board below the brush cylinder adapted to deflect part of the aircurrent created toward the flue by the brush cylinder into a returncurrent, and a draft shield below the saw cylinder adapted to govern theupward course of said return current, both said mote board and saiddraft shield being angular-1y adjustable each with relation to theother.

20. In a cotton seed linter, a sawcylinder, a brush cylinder and a flueleading from the brush cylinder, the bottom wall of the flue extendingforward to a point substantially underneath the axis of the brushcylinder, a

downwardly and forwardly curved moteboard at the end of the bottom wallof the flue, said mote board being adjustable both vertically andangularly,and an angularly adjustable draft shield arranged oppositesaid mote board and extending downward below the level of said moteboard with an open space thercbetween.

Signed by me at Dallas, Texas, this sixth day of December 1913.

ARTHUR A. VARDELIJ.

Witnesses:

Gno. C. lVALsn, OLIN Bnoons.

